KONE secured a major order to deliver all elevators and escalators for The Shard London Bridge building in London. The order covers the supply and installation of 36 elevators and 10 escalators, including 13 double-deck elevators.

Over twice the height of the London Eye and adjacent to London Bridge railway station, The Shard London Bridge is a 80-storey, 900,000 sq ft net development comprising of office space, luxury residential accommodation and a hotel with several mid and upper viewing galleries. This iconic tower is the first phase of the GBP 2 billion London Bridge Quarter regeneration scheme covering almost 2 million sq ft.

"We are extremely pleased to be chosen for this project, which is to become the tallest mixed-use building in Western Europe, standing at 310 metres. Renzo Piano’s building design will be a wonderful addition to London’s skyline," says Noud Veeger, EVP and Area Director for Central and North Europe at KONE. "This project further strengthens KONE’s leading position in the European high-rise elevator market."

Powered by the energy-efficient KONE EcoDisc® hoisting machine, the double-deck elevators consist of two elevator cars in the same hoistway, one on top of the other. The technology creates significant space savings and increases traffic handling capacity in high-rise buildings.

Construction of the skyscraper begins this spring with completion scheduled for May 2012. Installation of the elevators will commence in 2010.

Some facts about The Shard London Bridge:

• The architect concieved the tower as a huge spire reminiscent of the London captured by Canaletto. The tapering spire helps reduce the profile making it smaller on the skyline whilst the large bottom of the tower gives the surrounding London streets a real landmark of size.

• Piano originally planned a 380 metre tall tower as a replacement for an earlier design by Broadway Malyan. This height was reduced after much consultation with the planning authorities as it was considered excessive.

• At ground level, every major use of the tower, viewing galleries, residential, hotel and offices, will each have separate entrances.

• Offices take up the bulk of the scheme, 53,585 square metres of space over 27 floors. Each floor will have naturally ventilated winter gardens thanks to the double skinned cladding and the controllable louvre windows.

• There will be a mid-level viewing piazza and top quality restaurants 121.05 metres up.

• Shangri La will have a five star luxury hotel occupying 18 floors.

• Residential space will be limited and take up the tower from 186 metres to 224 metres making it by far the highest residential property in London, even if Beetham’s proposed tower is built. Some apartments will take up a floor and cost in excess of £10 million.

• There will be an open public viewing gallery, the tallest of any building in Europe, at 243.8 metres up the tower that is expected to recieve 2 million visitors a year. This will be the highest occupiable floor in the development.

• The top floors of the building are a massive radiator designed to expel the heat generated by it naturally.

• The nickname, the "Shard of Glass", was originally coined by English Heritage who tried to use it as an insult suggesting it was stabbing the heart of historic London. Ironically it has stuck and is now used by the developer in marketing.